Lost Monarch Redwood: The Largest

This page is an off-shoot of > Largest Coast Redwoods

Copyright 2009 by Mario Vaden

Lost Monarch is the largest known coast redwood known in the world. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. When first discovered by Prof. Steve Sillett and Michael Taylor in May, 1998, its trunk measured 26' diameter at chest high, dbh, wider than General Sherman the largest Giant Sequoia, although the General has more wood volume.

But to the untrained eye, and even some trained eyes, those two conifers would seem almost the same size. Especially since Lost Monarch's lowest twigs almost touch the ground.

The 2009 dimensions were: 321.5' or 98 meters tall and 26' diameter. The wood volume measured at 42,500 cubic feet.

Robert Van Pelt wrote that the Del Norte Titan is larger as a single stem redwood. And when Steve Sillett climbed Lost Monarch to measure, he included a basal sprout. Which is really a giant basal trunk. Its genetically identical, and since its connected to the trunk flare and roots, that makes it a single living redwood organism.

Steve Sillett observed that almost all the branches in the crown above 200 feet had been killed by a forest fire in the past. And most new branch growth sprouted from the stem. That means much of the crown began as epicormic sprouts. The limbs growing there now are rather large, so that fire was a long, long time ago.

The base of the tree is nearly 30' wide. Researcher Dr. Van Pelt described it as "vaulting" out of the earth like a"volcano" Some of the roots are visible almost 100 feet away in boggy soil near it. Like El Viejo del Norte and Del Norte Titan, Lost Monarch is located on the opposite side of the Smith River from the campground, in the forest.

This has been a challenging redwood for me to get photographs for. Thick vegetation blocks the view from almost every side as far as the base goes. And the best spot for a tripod with a line of sight to the base is very close. Arco Giant redwood has been like that too.

The trunk below is as wide as 4 full size automobiles side by side.